Dispensing rack



11h17, 1967 w. D.. TALLMAN DISPENSING RACK Filed Feb. 1, 1965 United States Patent OV.

3,298,534 DISPENSING RACK. Warren D. Tallmam Elmhurst, Ill. (3825 W'. 31st St., -Chicago, Ill. 60623) Filed Feb. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 429,522

` 6 Claims. (Cl. 211%78) This invention relates to a dispensing rack, and is particularly concerned with means for supporting a plurality of containers `from a central support with the contents of each container readily accessible.

The dispensing rack will be described in connection with its use in a home work Shop, for which use it is particularly designed, but ,it will be. understood that it may be used in many different environments.

Inv most home work shops ,time is Yoftenwasted looking for va specic article, particularly if it is a small article such as a bolt or screw, for example, because such articles are usually stored in a draweror` container With many diverse articles of small size. Orderly arrangement of such articles is virtually impossibleV in most cases because of limited space or storage equipment. Storage facilities for such. articles usually take upa considerable amount of bench space and unduly restrict 4theworking area in the home workshop.

The dispensing rack of the present invention provides a neat, inexpensive, efficient means for storing a variety of small articles that are usuallyfkept in a home work shop. The stored articles are easily accessible to a person standing near a work bench, without restricting the working space to any substantial extent.

The structure by means of which the above mentioned and other advantages of the invention are attained will be described in -the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing two preferred embodiments of the invention in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a dispensing rack embodying the invention, showing the rack mounted on a wall;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional View, taken along the line 2 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the dispensing rack supported from a ceiling;

FIG. 4 is a detail perspective view of one section of the dispensing rack;

FIG. 5 is a detail perspective view of the support bracket;

FIG. 6 is a detail perspective view of an angle member adapted to provide a laterally adjustable supporting surface for the support bracket; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of another embodiment of the dispensing rack.

In the drawings, a support. bracket 11 is provided with a plurality of apertures 12 for receiving securing members, such as screws 13, by means of which it may be secured to any suit-able supporting surface, such as a ceiling 14 or the horizontal leg 15 of an angle member 16 having its other leg 17 rigidly secured to a wall 18. The horizontal leg of the angle member 16 is provided with an elongated slot 19 to provide lateral adjustment for the support bracket 11 to vary the distance between the bracket and the wall on which the angle member 16 is mounted. The support bracket 11 has an intermediate offset section 20 provided with an aperture 21 for receiving a vertically disposed rod 22 adapted to depend from the offset section of the support bracket. The rod 22 has a head 23 at its upper end adapted -to seat on the offset section 20 to rotatably support the rod 22.

A flat bar 24 is pivotally secured to the lower end of the rod 22, as indicated at 25. The bar 24 is twisted intermediate its length, as indicated at 26, so that the at ice surfaces of two portions 27 and 28 of the bar extend in vertical planes at right angles to each other. A laterally extending arm 29 is rigidly secured to each at surface ofk each of the portions 27 and 2S. A container lid 30 is rigidly secured to the underside of each arm 29 in any suitable manner, as, for example, by welding or rivetting. A container 31 is detachably secured to each lid 30 in any suitable manner. The containers and lids are each provided with vthreads or any other suitable interengageable means for detachably securing a container to the lid. The armsv 29 are inclined slightly to permit each of the containers to extend outwardly from the bar 24. As shown in FIG. 1 the upper ends of the containers are closer to the bar 24 than the lower ends of the containers. Twistingthe bar 24 so that each pair of containers is spaced circumferentially of the axis of the rod 22 at right anglesto the adjacent pair of containers permits the containers to be spaced at shorter vertical intervals than would be possible if the arms 29 were in the same vertical plane.

A second ba-r 32 is pivotally secured to the lower end of bar 24 in the same manneras the bar 24 is secured to the rod 22. The bar 32 is a duplicate of the bar 24 and has four arms 29 extending laterally from its flat surfaces. The lids on each arm are spaced at circumferentially of the axis of the rod. A person standing near the dispensing rack may gain access to any of the containers by rotating the rod 22 by manual force applied to any ofthe containers.

The pivotal connections 25 permit the rack to be hung close to the wall so that it is out of the way when it is not being used. If the container to which access is desired is too far away in the closest position towhich it can be rotated, the bar supporting it may be moved about its pivot 25 to bring it closer. The specific container is then removed from the lid supporting it to provide access to its contents through its open top. When the desired articles are removed from the container, it is re-engaged with its lid, and moved out of the way.

The embodiment of FIG. 7 is substantially the same as that at FIGS. 1 to 6 except that a twisted flat bar 33 is substituted for each pair of a-rms 29. The center portion 34 of the arm 33 is rigidly secured to the bar 24, as indicated at 35, and both end portions 36 and 37 are twisted at right angles so that the lids 30 secured thereto are approximately horizontal. The operation of this embodiment is the same as the operation described above in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 6.

It is preferred to suspend the rack from a rotatable rod, but, if desired, a bar may be rotatably mounted in a support pedestal so as to extend upwardly to any suitable height, and transversely extending arms may be secured thereto in the same manner as arms 29 and 33. Lids 30 may be secured to the arms as shown in the drawings.

Although I have described two preferred embodiments of the invention in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description thereof is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details of structure may be modified or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to the exact structure disclosed.

I claim:

1. A dispensing rack comprising a rigid support member, a second support member rotatably secured to said rigid support member, a plurality of arms extending angularly from said second support member, and a container lid rigidly secured to each of said arms, each of said lids being engageable with a container.

2. A dispensing rack comprising a horizontally disposed bracket rigidly secured to a supporting surface, a rod rotatably secured to said bracket, a bar pivotally se- 3 cured to said rod, a plurali-ty of angularly disposed arms rigidly secured to said bar, and a container lid rigidly secured to each of said arms, each of said lids having means thereon for engagement with a container.

3. A dispensing rack comprising a horizontally disposed bracket rigidly secured to a supporting surface, a rod rotatably secured to said bracket, a bar pivotally secured to said rod, a plurality of angularly disposed arms n'gidly secured to said bar, a container lid rigidly secured to the underside of each of said arms, a plurality of containers, and interengageable means on each of said lids and containers for detachably securing each of said containers to each of said lids.

4. A dispensing rack comprising a rigid support member, 'a rotatably mounted rod depending from said support member, a bar pivotally secured to said rod, a second bar pivotally secured to said rst mentioned bar, each of said bars having flat surfaces spaced at right angles circumferentially of the axis of said rod, an arm rigidly secured to and extending laterally from each of said at surfaces and a container lid rigidly secured to each of said arms, each of said lids having means thereon for supporting a container secured thereto.

5. A dispensing rack comprising a horizontally disposed bracket rigidly secured toa supporting surface, a rod rotatably secured to said bracket, a flat bar depending from said rod, said bar being twisted intermediate its length whereby the flat surfaces of two portions of said bar extend in vertical planes at right angles to each other,

- two portions of said bar, and a container lid rigidly secured to the underside of each of said arms, each of said lids having means thereon for supporting a container secured thereto.

6. A dispensing rack comprising a horizontally disposed bracket rigidly secured to a supporting'surface, a rod rotatably secured to said` bracket, abar pivotally secured to said rod, a flat arm rigidly secured to said bar and extending at right angles thereto for most of its length, each end of said at arm extending upwardly rat a slight angle to the intermediate portion of said arm, and a container lid rigidly secured to each end of said arm, each of said lids having means thereon for engagement with a container.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DISPENSING RACK COMPRISING A RIGID SUPPORT MEMBER, A SECOND SUPPORT MEMBER ROTATABLY SECURED TO SAID RIGID SUPPORT MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF ARMS EXTENDING ANGULARLY FROM SAID SECOND SUPPORT MEMBER, AND A CONTAINER LID RIGIDLY SECURED TO EACH OF SAID ARMS, EACH OF SAID LIDS BEING ENGAGEABLE WITH A CONTAINER. 